| Location | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Map references | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,104,300 sq km land: 1,096,570 sq km water: 7,730 sq km note: area numbers are approximate since a large portion of the Ethiopia-Somalia border is undefined |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries | total: 5,925 km border countries (6): Djibouti 342 km, Eritrea 1033 km, Kenya 867 km, Somalia 1640 km, South Sudan 1299 km, Sudan 744 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
| Terrain | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Ras Dejen 4,550 m lowest point: Danakil Depression -125 m mean elevation: 1,330 m |
| Natural resources | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
| Land use | agricultural land: 36.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 20% (2018 est.) forest: 12.2% (2018 est.) other: 51.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 2,900 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 122 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts volcanism: volcanic activity in the Great Rift Valley; Erta Ale (613 m), which has caused frequent lava flows in recent years, is the country's most active volcano; Dabbahu became active in 2005, forcing evacuations; other historically active volcanoes include Alayta, Dalaffilla, Dallol, Dama Ali, Fentale, Kone, Manda Hararo, and Manda-Inakir |
| Geography - note | note 1: landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; Ethiopia is, therefore, the most populous landlocked country in the world; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia note 2: three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
